Method of manufacturing stemmed glassware



Jan. 6,- 1942..

A. J. CUNNINGHAM METHOD OF MANUFACTURING STEMMED GLASSWARE Filed Oct 20;1959 f/cai.

F/G. Z.

INVENTOR AND/Q5! ,O'U/V/V/A GHAM v ATTO NEYS Patented Jan. 6, 1942 j 7UNITED STATES PATENT'v O-l FlCE' METHOD or MANUFACTURING STEMMEDGLASSWAR-E Andrew J. Cunningham, Snyder, assignor to Alfred H. Sharpe,Buffalo, N. Y.

Application October 20, 1939, Serial No. 300,409

2 Claims. (01. 49-180) section of the structure being of such strengththereof by means of blowing and finishing processes performed by skilledworkmen. In connection with such methods it is extremely difficult toproduce the lower bowl wall and hollow stem portions thereof ofdesirable sectional thickness from the standpoint of the expected rigorsto be imposed upon the completed structure.'

Also, such prior methods of manufacture usually involve free handblowing processes and the like, and are undesirably complicated andexpensive because of the amount of manual labor involved, and aretotally unsuited to application in automatic machine operations.Consequently, the products of such previous methods are faulty from thestandpoint of structural strength; are relatively expensive tomanufacture; and are generally non-uniform in quality.

The present invention contemplates the blowing of a combination bowl andhollow stem structure as an integral unit in a sectional mold which isshaped complementary to the prescribed outer contour of that portion ofthe article. The mold is provided with a port at the bottom of the stemforming opening :thereof which is normally closed by means of a gatedevice. The lower solid section of the stem or foot of the goblet issimultaneously formed by pressing heated glass into a lower sectionalmold while the. latter is being supported adjacent the lower end of theupper mold with the glass receiving openings of the mold in registrywith one another; the gate having been first removed. Thelower stem orfoot pressing operation is so performed as to provide extrusion ofmolten glass upwardly from the lower mold and into fusing contact withthe lower end of the upper hollow stem portion of the goblet beingformed to form a durable connection therebetween. Upon removal of theunited bowl and stem or foot structure from the molds additional endpieces may be mounted thereon if desired in the manner of any suitableglass working methods; the lower end as to receive attachment ofadditional members thereon in an improved manner. a

In the drawing: Fig.1 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional Viewillustrating as'tepof the combination bowl and v hollow stemjblowingprocess of the invention;

Fig. '2 is a vertical sectional view through the lower mold device usedin connection with the method of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a view,'partly in section, of a typical form of glass gobletproduced by the method of -.the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a top plan View of the goblet of Fig; 3. Fig. 1 illustratesdiagrammatically a step of the combination bowl and hollow stem blowingprocess, wherein there is employed a mold l0 shaped interiorly in such'manner as to complement the desired outer contour of the finished bowland hollow stem portion l2 of a drinking goblet. The mold in is providedwith a bottom openingl l and a gate I6 normally closing the latter; Therequisite amount of glass is first collected on a blow pipe l8 in theusual manner. The glass is then partially blown into bulb form and thenmarvered at its lower end into the approximate shape of the moldinterior. The bulb is then lowered into the mold Ill and blown into theform illustrated in Fig. 1. Particular attention is called to'the factthat in connection with-this method of forming the glass bulb, bothprior and subsequent to insertion within the mold Ill the molten glassnaturally gravitates toward the lower portion of the bulb andautomatically provides the lower wall portions of the stem of increasingsectional thickness converging at the bottom of the mold into athickened solid end section [1. Thus, the final blowing process in'themold ll! provides the style of goblet wall formation illustrated-in Fig.1 and avoids undesirable thinning of the lower wall portions such asresults in conventional bowl blowing processes; and an integral bowl andhollow stem structure is provided wherein the lower wall portionsthereof increase gradually in thickness toward the lower end thereofwhich is of solid glass form. Consequently, the hollow stem structure isadapted to be subsequently connected to a sub-stem or foot element in animproved manner and whereby the completed goblet is capable ofwithstanding the rigors of. use in an improved manner.-

Near the end of the combination bowl and stem blowing processhereinabove described the formation of the lower sub-stem section 22 ofthe goblet is started by pouring a charge of glass into a sectional mold20 (Fig. 2) which is interiorly shaped to complement the desired outerform of the sub-stem portion. At its upper end 24, the mold interioropens into the upper face of the mold block, and elsewhere is incommunication with a glass supply reservoir 25. The upper face of themold 20 is then brought into abutting relation with the bottom of themold In; the gate l6 having been first removed from the lower endopening H of the mold l and the openings I4 and 24 being thus broughtinto registry with one another. The molten glass in the lower mold isthen rammed in the mold interior by means of a plunger 26 whereby it iscaused to completely fill the mold space and simultaneously pressupwardly through the opening 24 and into fused connection with the lowersolid end ll of the hollow stem. Upon cooling of the glass, the molds l0and 20 are removed, and the excess glass IQ of the bulb trimmed awayfrom the desired rim line of the bowl by any suitable method.

In connection with the sub-stem pressing step of the invention thecharge of glass in the reservoir 25 may be so regulated in quantity asto provide a button of excess glass at the lower end of the sub-stem 22of sufiicient size to provide the necessary material for a spinningoperation whereby a foot 28 (Fig. 3) may be provided subsequent toremoval from the molds and reheating of the excess glass button. Or, thepressing process may be confined solely to the formation of the sub-stem22 and a foot 28 subsequently attached by any suitable method as bysticking thereto a small bulb of heated glass and then opening it outand flattening it into the desired shape.

A particular advantage of the method of the invention resides in thefact that the side wall portions of the blown stem section may be easilyprovided of increasing thickness towards the point of juncture with thesub-stem structure because of the marvering operation and the action ofthe forces of gravity upon the heated -when compared to the class ofworkmen required for free-hand glass blowing methods.

It will also be understood that .the wall thickness of the bowl andhollow stem sections of the structure may be varied throughout accordingto the requirements for strength in the finished product, by suitablyconducting the glass heating and marvering operations preparatory to thefinal mold blowing step in such manner as to dispose the necessarymasses of glass at the required sections of the structure. Anotheradvantage of the invention resides in the fact that because the lowerend portion of the hollow stem section I2 is of increased wall thicknessit will be capable of receiving ornamental cuttings of substantial depthwithout undue weakening of the structure. Consequently the stem may befluted, or the like, to increase the grace of its appearance while therugged characteristics of the structure are substantially retained.

Although only one form of the invention has been shown and described indetail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that theinvention is not so limited but that various changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of manufacturing a hollow stem type glass goblet includingthe steps of marvering molten glass on a blow tube into the approximateform of a combination bowl and hollow stem portion of said goblet,blowing the marvered molten glass into a mold shaped complementary tothe prescribed form of said bowl and hollow stem portion and moldpressing a charge of molten glass into the form of the goblet substemportion and into fusing contact with said hollow stem portion while thelatter is supported Within said combination bowl and hollow stem moldwhile regulating said charge of molten glass so as to form a button ofexcess glass at the bottom of said sub-stem portion, and subsequentlyreforming said button of excess glass into a foot portion of saidgoblet.

2. The method of manufacturing a hollow stem type glass goblet includingthe steps of marvering molten glass on a blow tube into the approximateform of a combination bowl and hollow stem portion of said goblet, saidmarvering being effected with the molten glass depending from the blowtube to produce a bowl and hollow stem portion of progressivelyincreasing thickness toward the bottom under the influence of gravityacting on the glass whereby the wall of the hollow stem portion issubstantially thicker than the Wall of the bowl portion, blowing themarvered molten glass into a mold shaped complementary to the prescribedform of said bowl and hollow stem portion and mold-pressing a charge ofmolten glass into the form of the goblet substem portion and into fusingcontact with said hollow stem portion while the latter is supportedwithin said combination bowl and hollow stem mold while regulating saidcharge of molten glass so as :to form a button of excess glass at thebottom of said sub-stem portion, and subsequently reforming said buttonof excess glass into a foot portion of said goblet.

ANDREW J. CUNNINGHAM.

